Rolf Gates, in his beautiful and practical book Meditations from the Mat, says of the yama Aparigraha (aka non-hoarding, non-covetousness, non-greed) ...
Aparigraha embodies the idea of good things to come. Once we realize that we can actually part with whatever it is we have been holding on to - the 10 year old t-shirts with sentimental value, the receipts we never turned in, the clutter of our lives - we begin to understand that we are clearing a space for something (else), better. The past is dead, and we are making room for the living. I like to think of this kind of housecleaning as analogous to the preparations an expectant couple make for their baby, transforming the office, guest room or storage space into a nursery. There is the same sense of potent expectancy as we embrace aparigraha and set out to audaciously clean house.
One of the ways I'm learning to let go is with bills. Somewhere along the way, I came to understand that the money I gave to my creditors wasn't really mind in the first place, and by paying the minimum each month was just a way to prolong and unsatisfactory relationship. The yamas are simply a means to reclaim our own energy. Oftentimes when we believe that we've been holding on to something we need, we find that the reverse is actually true. The real loss is the the emptiness, the soul sickness, that we feel around any form of fear disguised as greed or hoarding. The symbols of our fear block us from the light of our own spirit. As we step away from these symbols, the phantoms, a wind catches our sails. Lighter, freer, we look up and glimpse the far shore, and suddenly we are filled with the joy of absurd good news.
I have another series coming up ...
Shine Your Chakras - March 25-29 Daily 7:30-8:45am at Shine Studio. Learn more ...